The iPhone 5 will be a new, fully redesigned product – rather than an updated iPhone 4 – with a "radical new case design," according to rumor site Boy Genius Report.

Over the last few months, some developers have been given access to an iPhone 4 with updated internal hardware (dubbed the "iPhone 4S" by blogs), giving rise to the rumor that the next iPhone would maintain the same case design as the current model.

BGR's announcement of a fully-redesigned phone complements an earlier prediction from Thisismynext. The tech site reported that the iPhone 5 could be thinner than the current iPhone, with a teardrop-shaped case that would taper from top to bottom, giving it a profile similar to the MacBook Air computer. This new rumor also meshes with an earlier one that Apple has purchased machines capable of cutting curved glass, which would allow it to give the iPhone 5 a sleek, tapered case.

But Boy Genius Report, citing the same "reliable source," says the company may break tradition to hold an event early in August, making the iPhone 5 available by the end of the month. It's not clear whether this means the public would get to see redesigned iPods a little earlier than usual, or whether an August announcement would be part of a separate, iPhone-specific event.

It's still unclear if iPhone 5 will have a 4G antenna. Speedy 4G networks are already available across most of the country. However, Apple has an odd history with new standards. It champions some immediately (Thunderbolt), abandons others prematurely (Flash), and only embraces them on Apple's terms. Remember that the original iPhone didn't have 3G, even though 3G networks blanketed the US at the time.